Review Blog

Jun 22 2017

Margherita's recipes for love by Elisabetta Flumeri and Gabriella Giacometti

Simon and Schuster, 2017. ISBN 9781471162695
(Age: 15+) Well, this is a delicious read, a feast for the senses.
The writers almost dare us to not relish or enjoy the food, the
convoluted love stories, the solving of issues of love, loyalty and
friendship all set in the delightful towns and countryside of Italy.
Flumeri and Giacometti have previously written radio programs,
novels and a number of screenplays. In this novel, they focus on
food and love that are depicted as inextricably linked, choosing an
ideal setting that is a feast for all the senses, the adventures
mostly taking place in the enticing, glorious green hills,
vineyards, old homes of the small towns of Tuscany.
The story has a complexity that is used to build up the requisite
tension, and the outcome, while perhaps predictable, is a satisfying
one. However, it is not the characters who dominate this
food-lovers' novel, but the food itself. Described in richly
evocative phrases, food, in its powerful effect on the emotions and
behaviour of the characters, is really the star of this story. Food
dominates, and is used to create tension, to solve issues, to bring
people together, be it for friendship, family issues, business or
love. Descriptions of meals are passionately described, and we are
persuaded to see how the particularly powerful, sexually arousing
effects of dishes that persuade people to like, love, or indeed to
disdain, others. Melodramatic it may be, but it is a happy,
well-written and quite simply enjoyable book that brings a smile to
the face and enjoyment not dissimilar to watching a good cookery
program on television.
Elizabeth Bondar